Nightmare
by winchesterwings
Summary: Castiel noticed something strange about his companion, yet Sam Winchester seemed the type to lock everything away inside a tiny little box in that clouded head of his, never to be released, never to be shared. This was perhaps his greatest flaw. Soon, everything becomes unraveled and things start to get worse. Significantly worse.
1. Preface

**Preface**

* * *

Sam's lips were open slightly in a manner that almost seemed surprised, yet his face was calm. This was a rare sight, as Sam Winchester never seemed to be relaxed, his brows almost always furrowed in intense concentration. He rarely slept - he and Castiel would often stay awake throughout the night, reading, researching, and sitting together in quiet thought, with only a slight murmur if something of use was found. Lately, that was a rare occasion too. Sam had been significantly more stressed recently, as though the weight of the world was laid heavily on his shoulders. Sometimes, Cas wished to comfort him, to make him feel even slightly less alone, yet he could never find the right words and so watched silently as his friend struggled. Things like this shouldn't bother him, really, yet he cared significantly for Sam, and had always felt that his safety was his responsibility. The Winchesters meant a great deal to Castiel, and he wished to protect them with all that he could offer. Sam had been gone for a while, swimming lost in his mind, oblivious, and though he sat in the same room, he wasn't Sam – not the Sam he knew. He was weak, distracted, _frightened._ Neither Cas nor Dean knew, or dared even ask, what was happening in the younger Winchester's mind, yet he always seemed to be somewhere far away. Castiel, who required no sleep, was the only one awake this night, sat on a wooden chair in the far corner, his legs crossed and his hands placed upon his knees. He often amused himself by listening to Sam mumbling under his breath as he dreamt, though lately it concerned him more and more and he couldn't bear to listen. They were dark things, dark memories, things he attempted to avoid with jobs that he couldn't avoid in his sleep, when his subconscious mind seeped through his barrier. He'd awaken every morning and it'd be as though nothing had happened, smiles, laughter, jokes and casual conversation, and Castiel would return this favour. Neither would mention anything. Sam Winchester was not the type to sob about his problems, to share with the world his concerns and his worries. No, Sam Winchester was the type to lock everything away inside a tiny little box in that clouded head of his, never to be released, never to be shared. This was perhaps his greatest flaw.


	2. Chapter 1

'Raining again, huh?'

Sam flinched at the sudden voice he'd been dreading ever since he woke.

'Don't ignore me Sam. You can't ignore me forever.' Lucifer said in a mockingly rejected tone, scooting his seat forwards until he and Sam were face to face. Sam Winchester's eyes were screwed up in a desperate hope that Lucifer would be gone when he opened them again but, like the many times before, nothing happened. Amused, Lucifer watched as Sam's eyes clenched tighter and tighter, his brows knotting together in determination. With a shake of his head, he brought his hand to Sam's ear, and let out a loud click.

'Nope, _still_ here.' Lucifer grinned, meeting Sam's pained eyes, 'Say, where's your brother? And the other one, what's his name? The one who always looks constipated...Castiel, is it?' He let out a chuckle. Sam didn't reply, but turned his head to see that it was in fact true, Dean and Castiel were missing. This was odd as they'd never usually leave him alone – they dragged him everywhere with them, as though they didn't trust him to be alone. He'd often caught Castiel wearily watching him from the corner of his eye, as though he could run any second. In a way, he could understand their concern, he guessed he had been acting a little odd lately, but, honestly, how could anyone possibly act 'normal' when the bloody _devil_ was stalking their mind. Not that either of them knew that. They'd think he was mad, he knew they would, and they'd lock him in that god damn room again – _just in case he was a danger_.

The room the Winchesters and their companion had been staying in was dull to say the least, the moss green wallpaper was the most colourful thing in the room, and even that was peeling into little piles on the dusty floor. There were two beds (Castiel didn't need to sleep, of course) with the lumpiest mattresses they'd ever lay down on, and every morning each would awaken with a ground and a click of their back as their bones readjusted. Black curtains hung over a single window, which was so clogged up with fog that it'd be impossible to see either in or out anyway. The most attractive thing in the room was probably the little chair that Lucifer sat upon, but it was used more as an ornament than a place for sitting, as none trusted that the thin wooden legs would hold. Lucifer was brave, Sam thought, yet it wouldn't matter anyway…he was almost certain Lucifer was a hallucination, a figure of his distant imagination. It was just the same as a person having arachnophobia may see spiders crawling up walls, yet there's really nothing there. Neither of the others could see Lucifer either, so he couldn't possibly exist, right?

Sighing, Sam placed the empty can of shaving foam in the bin and looked distastefully at the prickles of brown hair running along his jaw. He made a mental note to tell Dean that if he wasn't to go shopping sometime soon, they'd all resemble Hagrid within a few days. Half-heartedly, he ran a wide-toothed comb through his hair, splitting it in the middle in order to remove the strands of hair falling into his hazy line of vision. He'd never been more tired, despite having had his first sleep in weeks that previous night. All of a sudden, Lucifer appeared in his face once more and Sam turned on his heel to walk the other way, stumbling slightly. Sweat gathered in the palms of his hands as he heard footsteps shadowing his, and he turned into a doorway to be shocked by the sight of Dean.

'Bloody hell, you almost jumped out of your skin' Dean chuckled between bites of his cheeseburger. Typical Dean, Sam thought as he took a seat beside him. Still laughing a little, Dean passed a small paper bag over to Sam, who opened it to find a disappointing ham salad pot.

'Seriously, Dean?' Sam muttered, shaking his head. 'Where's Cas, anyway?'

'Oh, Cas? He's uh...he's out for a bit. He should be back later.' Dean replied, and Sam looked at him suspiciously. 'Sam, I don't know, honestly. He didn't tell me. He just said he'd be back soon.'

Sam's face relaxed a little, but then suddenly became horrified, his mouth open in a piercing scream.

'Jesus Christ, don't eat that!' Sam screamed, throwing Dean's burger halfway across the room.

'What the hell, I was enjoying that.'

'Do you _enjoy _eating worms then, Dean?' Sam pointed towards the burger, yet to his confusion, the burger looked absolutely fine.

'What are you ON about?' Dean muttered, shooting Sam an annoyed look. 'That was a waste of a good burger, that.'

'Yeah. Uh. Sorry.' Sam replied, and swiftly stood up from his chair, avoiding Dean's piercing, concerned gaze. Sam wasn't focused on Dean's gaze though; Sam was focused on the shadow stood behind Dean.

'You _will_ listen to me, Sam. I won't be ignored.' Lucifer whispered, and the shadow vanished in an instant.


End file.
